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Happy Monday! Yearly growth for UPI is slowing as its user base expands. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.Also in the letter:■ RBI nod for Revolut■ Japan eyes Indian chips■ Swiggy’s tax noticeUPI speed bump: Wider base shrinks growth rate 120048811India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) continues to set monthly transaction records, but its growth pace is slowing as the user base expands, according to data analysed by ET.
By the numbers:Transaction volume: UPI processed 18.3 billion transactions in March 2025, a 36% increase from 13.44 billion in March 2024.
However, this growth is slower than the 54.7% recorded in 2024 and 60.6% in 2023.
Transaction value: UPI recorded transactions worth Rs 24.77 lakh crore in March 2025, a 25.2% rise from Rs 19.
78 lakh crore a year earlier. This is down from 40.3% growth in 2024 and 46.
8% in 2023. 120048815Slowing momentum: With over 660 banks live on the platform and a user base nearing 250 million—primarily concentrated in urban areas—UPI’s growth is entering a more complex phase. Expanding into rural markets will demand significant investments in infrastructure and innovation.
“Investment in UPI deployments for small markets have dried up. UPI needs to become a business to fund its own growth,” Amrish Rau, CEO of Pine Labs, wrote on X.Funding gap: In March, the cabinet extended a Rs 1,500 crore incentive scheme to ease the cost burden of small-ticket digital transactions for ecosystem participants.
However, fintech players deemed the amount inadequate.Also Read: Industry expects around Rs 600 crore loss as government nixes RuPay subsidyQuote, unquote: “With the government allocating a paltry Rs 1,500 crore for processing transactions of Rs 246.82 lakh crore in 2024 to the entire ecosystem, it will choke the entire ecosystem for funds required for scaling and growth,” Vishwas Patel, chairman of Payments Council of India, said.
Also Read: ETtech In-depth: Decoding the UPI growth story through the eyes of a duopolyEasebuzz bags $30 million lead by Bessemer 120048861Rohit Prasad, cofounder, EasebuzzPune-based digital payments company Easebuzz has raised Rs 240 crore ($30 million) in a funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners.Deal details:The round comprises Rs 200 crore in primary capital and Rs 40 crore in secondary capital.The secondary component involves share sales by existing investors, with no fresh funds entering the company.
This is Easebuzz’s first major venture round, following a Rs 34 crore ($4 million) raise in 2021.Also Read: How digital payments company Easebuzz quietly broke into the big leagueRevolut gets RBI nod for PPIs, wallets 120048872Paroma Chatterjee, CEO, Revolut India UK-based fintech firm Revolut has received final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to issue prepaid cards and digital wallets with UPI support.Tell me more:Since receiving in-principle clearance in April 2024, Revolut has secured full RBI authorisation in under a year.
With the Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) licence, Revolut can now offer domestic and international payment services via a single platform, including UPI payments through its mobile wallet.Fintech startups feel the glow of retail gold rush 120048883Many fintech startups offering safe-haven investment options such as fixed deposits and gold are attracting steady venture capital, fuelled by rising retail demand amid market volatility.South Korea, Taiwan copy Japan’s dribbles in India semiconductor play 120048895Japan is ramping up investments in India’s semiconductor sector, as South Korea and Taiwan scramble to close the gap amid the intensifying global competition, multiple industry sources told ET.
Driving the news: Japanese companies—early movers in recognising India’s chipmaking potential—have introduced advanced equipment and precision machining firms to help build the ecosystem from the ground up. “Japan’s unique strength is machinery and raw materials,” Takashi Suzuki, director general at the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), told ET.Suzuki noted that US foreign direct investment (FDI) in India grew by 172%, from 11 between 2017 and 2020 to 30 in the 2021-2024 period.
Japan's FDI in India surged by 700%, from one in 2017-2020 to eight between 2021-2024, marking the highest growth rate among all countries.Tell me more: Experts said South Korea and Taiwan are now working to close the gap with Japan in India, aiming to strengthen their foothold in the country’s burgeoning semiconductor landscape.Other Top Stories By Our Reporters 120048904Sriharsha Majety, CEO, SwiggySwiggy receives Rs 7.
6-crore notice from Pune profession tax department: Food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy has received a new notice from the Pune profession tax department over unpaid dues of Rs 7.6 crore, according to a filing with the stock exchanges.Zomato parent Eternal's COO for food delivery Rinshul Chandra resigns: Rinshul Chandra, chief operating officer at Zomato-parent Eternal, has stepped down, the company said on Saturday.
Food delivery remains the company’s largest revenue-generating segment.Impact investor Asha Ventures raises $10 million from British International Investment: Mumbai-based impact investor Asha Ventures has raised $10 million from British International Investment (BII), the UK government’s development finance arm, for its Fund I, bringing it closer to its target corpus of $91 million.How to use Meta’s Llama 4: A quick guide for developers and enterprises: Meta has launched its latest open-weight large language model, Llama 4, designed specifically for developers, AI startups, and researchers seeking alternatives to OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Google’s Gemini.
Global Picks We Are Reading■ Meta antitrust case poses first big test of Trump’s new FTC (FT)■ Quantum mechanics might have the solution to joystick drift (The Verge) ■ Chatbot confidential: How to protect your privacy when using AI chatbots (WSJ).
